11.30.2013

Are you US ladies enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend? It's been a whirlwind week for me as my husband got a new job and has to leave for 3 months to another city to train tomorrow. I will see him at Christmas but to say I am overwhelmed at the thought of not having him around with 2 kids to help out is an understatement! We had to put You Mix on hiatus because of this and we have been working around the clock to get out all the orders we could before Thanksgiving. It's been exhausting!

Anyway! I totally dropped the ball on any Thanksgiving nail art this year. I did do some fall indie glitter manis but I haven't had a chance to edit those pics, so you will be seeing those later. ;)

I wanted to show you a swatch from a mani I wore recently. It's Pixie Pink from Hard Candy. Obviously, heavily indie inspired. I still love a good milky glitter polish! The formula was great considering most milky glitters have a difficult formula. I love the color combo that Pixie Pink has, too.

I know these Hard Candies are old news but I only recently got my hands on this one.

11.23.2013

Just a quick mani to show you today. This is 2 coats of Wish Upon a Star from Pop Culture Cosmetics over Zoya Mira. I loved wearing this polish! Even though there is only one color involved, it's so not boring!

If you haven't checked out Pop Culture Cosmetics before you really should...LOTS of eye candy in that shop!

11.21.2013

If you want to get the look of a water marble but don't like the mess and skill involved, these water decals are for you!

I have only used water decals once before but quickly fell in love with how easy they were to use to get intricate nail art. This was my first time using full nail water decals though and these have a much better end result than any other nail strip I've tried.

This design is a chocolate brown, teal and mint water marble. I did a base of a coordinating polish to help mask any imperfections in my application but it turns out that wasn't necessary because these fit my super curved nails perfectly. I usually have gaps on the side of some nails when using other nail strips because they don't fit me well enough.

When wearing nail strips I usually have serious tip wear really fast, but these wore like iron and stayed put. Removal was a cinch too!

I would highly recommend these if you have lost all hope in using nail strips. I referenced this tutorial to get some application tips and was glad I did because I learned to apply my top coat before filing the excess strip off and that made a huge difference in getting a clean edge at the tips. Maybe this could work with other nail strips. Anyone tried it before?

These water decals are from Born Pretty and can be found *here* for less than $5, plus get 10% off with my code, AMG10.

11.20.2013

It's that time of the month when I show you the contents of my Ipsy bag! This month's theme was Glam It Up in preparation for the glitz of the holiday season. Accordingly, the bag my products came in is a metallic gold with a reptile texture and a contrasting bright pink zipper. I haven't been a fan of the bags I have gotten in the past so much, but this one is so me! Very cute.

I have gotten a polish from Nailtini in a past Ipsy bag and wasn't too impressed with the formula, so I'm hoping this one is better. I am also interested to see how this metallic copper compares to others I already own.

Next, the Pillow Plush Cushiony Lip Balm in Strawberry from em by Michelle Phan. I was excited to try this but it's a bit meh for me. The packaging and the name is super cute but I was left wanting more from this. It doesn't moisturize very well and the sheer red shade doesn't compliment my darker pigmented lips.

I was excited for this next product from Starlooks, the Gem Eye pencil in Amythest. I am loving the metallic finish and the purple shade is a perfect compliment to my green eyes. Can't wait to experiment with this some more!

I love me a chubby lip pencil. This one is from Be a Bombshell, a brand that's new to me. This is a super bright, matte red. I'm pretty happy with the quality.

This is my 3rd Cailyn product since joining Ipsy. I have come to the conclusion they like bulky packaging because every product takes up way more space than necessary. But this is the first product from Cailyn that hasn't been my fave in terms of quality and performance.

Finally, I got a bronzer from Pixi that I really like. The shade is flattering and there isn't a ton of shimmer or glitter. Just a fine sheen to it. I will definitely be putting this to use!

Here is everything together. There were 6 items this month! Last month has probably been my favorite bag so far. This month was mostly just ok for me. I think Ipsy needs to work with other brands to create a larger range of variety from month to month. I really love Ipsy though and don't see myself unsubscribing anytime soon.

If you want to subscribe to an Ipsy Glam bag you can use my link to get you started *here*. Ipsy also started a new points program where you can earn points toward a free full size product by reviewing your bag's items, among other things!You can view my past Glam Bag posts *here*.

11.18.2013

I have one of the "misfit" polishes KBShimmer put up for sale a few months ago to show you. It's called Blue Horizon. It's got blue and purple flecks and micro glitters as well as a purple shimmer to it. Super pretty!

My macro is not so color accurate but you get the idea. :)

I attempted some abstract stamping but I'm not sure how I feel about it.

11.17.2013

If you are into glitter polish at all, then I think you will like this post! Born Pretty has their own take on the microbar glitter trend with 8 versions of the matte bar, some combined with metallic glitters. I haven't seen anything like these anywhere else yet and I think they are my favorites so far!

Lots of pics, so get comfy and enjoy!

As with most polishes Born Pretty carries, these are numbered not named. Also, they are numbered on the site for checkout purposes but come with different numbers on the bottles. For reference, I will use the numbers listed on their site.

#6 has pastel blue and white micro bars as well as small blue hex glitters. This is one coat over Sally Hansen Triple Shine Oyster Bar.

#3 has white microbars mixed with blue and purple holo hex glitters. This is one coat over Orly Frisky.

#1 has white and aqua microbars with light green holo metallic glitters. This is one coat over China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle.

#7 has white microbars and black hex glitters. This is one coat over LCN Some Like It Hot.

11.13.2013

I have always loved the look of glitter gradients, however executing them to perfection isn't always so easy. So I was super excited to find a bunch of these sets in different colors from Born Pretty Store. Three 6ml bottles of coordinating glitters that have a fabulous end result!

The letters help you know the order these should be applied. I suppose you could also reverse the order for a different look as well. Bottle A goes on the full nail, Bottle B goes less than 1/2 way down, and Bottle C is just to the tips.

And here is the final look! I looove it.

I would totally wear this to a fancy holiday party...if I had one to go to. ;)

And here's a bonus look with another BPS product, star glitter stickers. I put these over Essie Dive Bar. I wish the stickers were a little thinner so they would lay flat and not peel up at the corners. But cute nonetheless!

You can find the glitter gradient sets *here* and the star stickers *here*. My code, AMG10, will get you another 10% off your order!

11.12.2013

Since it went from pleasant fall weather yesterday to very cold and winter- like today, I'm trying to stay warm with a super bright, more summer appropriate mani. A big cup of hot chocolate is helping too. ;)

The Walmart exclusive Salon Perfect line created quite a stir when they released a line of neon matte glitters all in the same vein as the now classic Floam. This is Shocked, the pink and blue version. The formula was quite thick and I made the mistake of choosing an even thicker base of Color Club Yum Gum. It ended up being a fail mani that didn't last long but somehow I think my pictures turned out decent!

One of my favorite parts of summer is wearing neon nail colors. But I have too many fall and winter shades piling up in my untrieds that need some love now!

11.11.2013

This mani is inspired by Jacki from Adventures in Acetone. She is such a fun nail artist and blogger and I love the texture criss cross idea she came up with. I decided to use Essie The Girls Are Out and Julie G Crushed Candy for my take on the look. It used lots of striping tape and patience!

My accent nail is the same Essie with Orly Be Brave. I think all of these polishes complimented each other quite nicely!

11.10.2013

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend. I spent a good part of mine reorganizing my makeup and nail polish. I'm probably going to have some additions to my blog sale sooner than later!

Today I am showing you swatches of a few polishes from the newest line from Sally Hansen called Triple Shine. Below is the new bottle shape. The caps pop off to reveal one that's easier to use for application. The top cap rattles around a bit when they are attached which makes it seem a little cheap. However, the brush is very similar to the Insta-Dri brush (which I know some people don't like, but I am a huge fan), but a bit smaller. Makes it very easy to paint on a coat in one stroke.

Ok! On to the swatches...

This is Fanta-sea in 2 coats layered over Zoya Neely. This is a versatile topper and it has a nice delicate feel to it as well.

Oyster Bar is a metallic, slightly frosty silver. I did 3 thin coats for coverage. The thinner the coats, the less brush-strokey the finish will be.

Next up, Sparks Fly. This is 2 coats over Sation Cast a Spill On You. The base is a sheer blue that makes this better as a topper. I like the big glitters in here because it adds to the bling factor!

And finally we have Twinkled Pink over Zoya Areej. This is 2 coats. With it's iridescent glitters, I bet this would also look good over black.

I've seen the Triple Shine line popping up in Walgreens stores in my area. There is a wide selection with 29 colors in various finishes to choose from.

11.09.2013

I just wanted to share with you that Layla is on Zulily, my favorite daily deals site. There are the Hologram, Ceramic and Soft Touch Effects for as low as $7.49. Awesome deal for this brand! Take a look*here* and tell me your thoughts!

If you do decide to purchase, I would love you forever for using my referral link below! :)

11.06.2013

I had the chance to try out another Must Have Box from POPSUGAR, this time for the month of October. I can't believe October is already over!

I must say, every box has been better than the last! I particularly liked this one because it had a generous amount of beauty/fashion items.

So the first item I got was a bracelet from Gorjana. This is a cute bracelet that is perfect to layer with other pieces. Also, 100% of the sales of this bracelet for the month of October went towards breast cancer.

The Wet Brush is the next item I received. I was overdue for a new brush, so this was perfect timing! ;) I love knowing that this brush was made specifically to reduce tugging and pulling of the hair. I have even tried it on wet hair, which is typically a no-no, and it glided through really nicely.

Another beauty item, a polish duo from Julep. I had yet to try anything from Julep just because nothing wowed me about the brand. While the blue shade, Char, isn't anything I haven't seen before, I loved the Freedom Polymer top coat. It dries super fast, which is a must for me with 2 kids and limited time to squeeze in a mani.

Next up are a couple of items from NYX. I have been a fan of the NYX brand for a while now, so I was super excited to find these in my box.

First up is a liquid eyeliner in brown. I don't typically wear brown eyeliner but this shade was dark enough to just soften my overall eye look as opposed to wearing black.

The other NYX item was the Smokey Shadow palette. I have a serious weakness for eyeshadow palettes. I own more eyeshadow than any other makeup item, besides nail polish of course! This fits nicely into my collection. Although these aren't the most buttery shadows out there, I can still work with them to create a nice smokey eye. I like having all the shades I need in one spot too.

Also included in this month's box was a $20 voucher to Stitch Fix. It sounds like a subscription box for clothes only you get to return what you don't want. But if you decide to keep everything you get a discount! Sneaky!

These hair pins from Jane Tran seem like a cuter alternative to bobby pins if you are doing a hairstyle where pins are more visible. They grip really well in my hair.

Just like every other Must Have box I have gotten, there is a food item! This time, a rice crispy treat from The Crispery. And not just any rice crispy treat, this thing is on marshmallow overload and that's a GOOD thing! I loved this, and it was huge!

And finally, Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook. Written specifically for those who can't cook, AKA me. Actually, I can cook, I just really don't like it very much so I don't do it. But this book is actually quite motivating and the recipes are the least bit intimidating to try and conquer. I will definitely be referring to this often!

Wow! What an awesome box for October! Well beyond the $35/month price.

Do any of you already subscribe or plan to subscribe to the PopSugar Must Have Box?

You can also see my review for past Must Have Boxes here. And if you want to subscribe, you can get more info *here*.